Along the banks of the Wushui River in Zhijiang County, to the west, lies a winding plain several miles wide. After about ten miles, you'll arrive at Zhu Ping Pu. From the road, amidst the flat land, a towering mountain rises, covering an area of several square miles. This is the Wild Chicken Hermitage.
In the 1970s, Zhijiang School established an agricultural farm at the Wild Chicken Hermitage as part of the education initiative aimed at engaging with factories, rural areas, military, and society. The agricultural farm was managed by two agricultural teachers. One was Mr. Wu Xianguo, around fifty years old, and the other was Ms. Li Mingru, around forty years old. They cultivated medicinal herbs, corn, buckwheat, sweet potatoes, soybeans, green beans, wheat, and more on the mountain. Students took turns going up the mountain to learn agriculture, with each class spending a week at a time. They brought their own clothes and bedding, stayed at the agricultural base, and participated in various farming activities.
Living in the city for a long time, breathing fresh air far from the hustle and bustle, and stretching their muscles and bones was a refreshing experience for the students. Parents were also pleased to see their children undergo physical labor, connect with nature, and learn agricultural skills.
After walking along the road from the county to the Wild Chicken Hermitage for about ten miles, you can see the Hermitage. Leaving the road and entering the mountainous area, the ascent begins. It takes about an hour from the foot of the mountain to the top, with the slope gradually becoming steeper. The mountain is covered with lush greenery, and when the mountain wind blows, the green waves roll, creating a magnificent sight. The mountaintop is surrounded by clouds and mist year-round, with white clouds drifting slowly from the mountainside below. Wild chickens often fly overhead, making cackling sounds, hence the name Wild Chicken Hermitage. In the summer, the air is fresh, the temperature a few degrees cooler than at the foot of the mountain, making it pleasantly cool.
As you climb the steepest slope of the Wild Chicken Hermitage and enter a gently sloping path covered by half-concealed thatched grass, you can see, from a distance of about a mile, on a slope more than two hundred meters from the mountaintop, a large area of cultivated land covered with lush crops. Below the slope are several wooden houses, with smoke curling up, marking the location of the agricultural base.
Every time students approached within two hundred meters of the agricultural base, a white dog would dash out of the house like lightning and run towards them, barking intermittently. As it approached the students, it would vigorously wag its tail, its front legs leaving the ground as it jumped towards the students' chests, as if it had just reunited with a long-lost master or friend, affectionate and kissing. The girls had never seen such a scene and often recoiled in fear. But the boys immediately fell in love with this friendly dog. This was Bai Zi, the dog that served as the guardian of the Wild Chicken Hermitage agricultural base.
Bai Zi was a dog purchased from a nearby village two or three years ago and had grown up at the agricultural base. It was a common local breed of shepherd dog, of medium size. Its pointed ears were always erect, its coat pure white without any speck of color, hence the name Bai Zi. Although born in the countryside, never having been to the city, let alone to a school in the city, Bai Zi was keenly aware that it was a member of the agricultural base and not like the dogs in the surrounding farmers' houses. For those students or teachers who had never seen it before, on their first visit, it instinctively knew they were its family and would go to greet them from afar, affectionate and warm. As for the nearby farmers who passed by the agricultural base every day, it barked and chased them every day, never treating them as neighbors. It was truly loyal and discerning, a faithful guardian dog.
Because of its friendly nature and unconditional friendliness towards students and teachers, Bai Zi was deeply loved by everyone at the agricultural base. When students saw it, they would warmly pat its head and stroke its fur. It would wag its tail and be extremely affectionate, often jumping on students and showing its joy. After finishing work and eating dinner, students would often shout, "Bai Zi, come, play with us," and Bai Zi would immediately run to them. Often seen in the twilight, students and Bai Zi chased each other in the cornfields, bamboo groves, and grasslands on the mountain, their joyful shouts and barking echoing on the mountaintop of the Wild Chicken Hermitage.
Bai Zi would also often visit the student dormitories for a visit, its greedy cat-like eyes always watching, until you couldn't help but bring out the snacks you brought from the city to feed it. At that time, there was no television, and there were no movies on the mountaintop. Even condiments like soy sauce, vinegar, salt, and matches had to be bought from the small shop downhill, a two-hour round trip. Apart from reading the books brought with them, playing with Bai Zi was the best entertainment on the mountaintop of the Wild Chicken Hermitage, and Bai Zi also enjoyed playing with these city students. Bai Zi became the best playmate for the students.
The agricultural base was manned by Li Mingru and Wu Xianguo, who had been stationed there year-round. They raised Bai Zi from a young age, so it listened most to their commands. Whether it was chasing and biting the neighboring farmers or running around with the students, as long as they called out, "Bai Zi, come back!" it would obediently return, although sometimes it would grumble as if not having enough fun.
Because some people would hunt and kill stray dogs for food, and even dogs that ran away from home were often lured and captured. Fearing Bai Zi might meet with misfortune, the two teachers never took Bai Zi into the city. Sometimes when Bai Zi followed Li Mingru back to the city, with Wu Xianguo following behind, as soon as the teacher said, "Bai Zi, go back!" although reluctant, it would obediently stop and slowly turn back. So although Bai Zi had been at the agricultural base for two or three years, it had never been to the schools in the county town.
At some point, some students who liked Bai Zi, on their way back to the city, either intentionally called Bai Zi or watched Bai Zi follow, unable to bear calling it back. Thus, Bai Zi came to the schools in the city with the students. Except for new students, all the students had learned farming and knew Bai Zi, and they all liked Bai Zi. As soon as Bai Zi arrived at the school, there would be countless students surrounding it, patting it, and calling its name. Bai Zi was like a grandmother entering the Grand View Garden, looking around excitedly. Seeing so many students who liked it, its tail wagged incessantly, licking one student's hand, smelling another student's foot, or pouncing on another student's chest
. Wherever Bai Zi went, there would be a large group of students following. And the news of "Bai Zi is here" quickly spread throughout the school, and everyone rushed to see Bai Zi. Bai Zi, who had never seen such a scene in the countryside, became even more spirited, strutting around like a leader on inspection, quite proud.
Bai Zi was surrounded by people calling out to it, making a circuit around the campus, with everyone who needed to "inspect" it doing so. Someone remembered that Bai Zi must be hungry, so they took Bai Zi to the cafeteria. The school cafeteria was operated for single male teachers, teachers from out of town, boarding students, and occasional teachers who needed to eat at school. There were about two hundred people eating, with three or four master chefs. Although the master chefs had never seen Bai Zi, they had long heard of this beloved "star" of the entire school. Not daring to be negligent, they immediately filled a bowl with pork bones, leftover meat, and leftover rice and vegetables for Bai Zi. Bai Zi was hungry too, so it indulged in a hearty meal without hesitation. Compared to the Wild Chicken Hermitage, this was almost like a feast. From then on, Bai Zi knew the way to the cafeteria, and whenever it was hungry, it would go to the cafeteria by itself. The master chefs would always give it bones to eat, sometimes even meat. This was something Bai Zi rarely got to eat at the Wild Chicken Hermitage.
The two teachers found out that Bai Zi had unexpectedly come to the school and quickly took Bai Zi back to the agricultural base. Bai Zi stayed there obediently for a while. When the next wave of students came and left, Bai Zi followed the students back to the school for a glorious return before being taken back by the teachers.
The two teachers were also busy and sometimes couldn't make it back to the school in time to bring Bai Zi back to the agricultural base. Bai Zi had seen the world and knew that there were more students who liked it in the city and there were bones in the cafeteria. The old folks said, "Dogs in the city can gnaw on bones a few more times." So "people go up, dogs go to the city." The city was Bai Zi's paradise.
Once a dog has walked a route, it remembers it. Bai Zi knew how to walk from the Wild Chicken Hermitage to the school. When there were no students around, whether out of longing for the students or the desire for the bones in the cafeteria, if the teachers weren't there, it would often run to the school by itself. Accepting the students' welcome, enjoying the delicious food. After a few days of playing, it would return to the agricultural base by itself.
The teachers and students gradually became accustomed to Bai Zi's comings and goings. After a while, when the students saw Bai Zi arrive and play with everyone, and then after a few days, when it disappeared again, everyone knew: it must have gone back to the Wild Chicken Hermitage. Bai Zi came and went along the road from the Wild Chicken Hermitage to the city, coming and going, going and coming. Sometimes with the students, sometimes alone.
The students of the agricultural base came and went, went and came. Thus, two years passed peacefully.
That summer, the students at the school realized that they hadn't seen Bai Zi for a long time. They thought Bai Zi was guarding the agricultural base at the Wild Chicken Hermitage, while the two teachers at the agricultural base thought it was at the school. Until one day, the teachers from the agricultural base came to the school and didn't see Bai Zi. Upon asking, they found out that Bai Zi hadn't been seen for a long time. And the two teachers hadn't seen Bai Zi at the agricultural base for a long time either. Now everyone felt something was wrong and began searching for Bai Zi.
A week passed, and there was no news of Bai Zi. A month passed, and there was still no news of it. Half a year passed, and some students searched all over the county town, searched through the thickets of the Wild Chicken Hermitage, and searched through the villages and towns along the road from the county town to the Wild Chicken Hermitage for more than ten miles, but still they couldn't find any trace of it. An ominous feeling hung over everyone's hearts: Bai Zi might have met with foul play.
Bai Zi disappeared without a trace. The mountaintop of the Wild Chicken Hermitage was still shrouded in white clouds, students still came and went, went and came, only there was no Bai Zi running from afar to greet them.
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